Whilst large rolls of barbed
wire were being put up around the world famous prehistoric monument Stonehenge
early this week, up to about 100 hippies drifted into a neighbouring field
with vehicles and tents for what one of them described as a  pop festival
likely to attract 15,000 fans . 

The festival they were talking
about and which has never been officially notified to the police or local
authority, seems to be a happening  which could last for about
seven days from tonight ( Friday ) . But local landowners , the Dept of the
Environment , who are responsible for Stonehenge and the District Council
are in the dark over the event .
On Wednesday just under 100 hippies were in the field and were recovering
form a not -too -pleasant night of rain .
They were finding themselves under a siege position for the the field entrance
through which they had gained access during the day was now padlocked and
they were , according to their spokesmen , unable to get water form the nearby
toilets at Stonehenge car park. A Welsh rock group leader "Solar
Ben "said the water and access to the public toilets had been denied
them , but the police had been friendly and helpful towards them . He said
they were at that site for the summer solstice which meant a lot to them and
was a highlight of the year as it was for the druids. But they did not plan
to join in the Druid ceremonies which take place from midnight on Sunday over
to the following day, including the famous sunrise ceremony in which the Druids
enact their principal ceremonies among the great stones. "We
are nothing to do with the Wallies," he explained -"they are dead man" he added . He
pointed out the stage that was in the course of being erected in such a position
that the sun, if it shone at dawn , would light up the stage and the performers
upon it.

But
the festival spirit was not abroad mid week for the scene was decidedly damp
and bedraggled and not a note of music could be heard drafting from the vans
, cars or tents in which men , girls and one or two tiny tots spend a dreary
night .
In the meantime the ministry workers were putting up the protective barbed
wire wall around the monument preparatory to the weekend druid ceremonies
, an annual precaution made necessary a few years ago through rowdyism and
vandalism .

Happening. One of the hippies said he and his
friends had been let into the field through a gate by someone who seemed to
have something to do with the land and he thought eventually 15,000 fans would
be turning up for the happening many of them from the North Devon
pop festival which finished recently .

Police
will be keeping an eye on the area and on Wednesday Salisbury Division Chief
Supt Frank Lockyer said the hippies were occupying the land illegally and
in contravention of the Stonehenge regulations made in 1975 by the Environmental
minister . Amongst unauthorised which are forbidden are entry to the Stonehenge
area , organising or taking part in an assembly , performance or ceremony,
erecting tents or amplifying sound .

But
yesterday a question mark was put over the rock festival. As more hippies
slowly drifted in , the dept of the Environment in London announced that the
festival was off.
In a special statement a spokesman said." There
is no free pop festival at Stonehenge this week."
He said regulations governing the monument forbade any assemblies at the the
site without previous permission from the secretary of state.

KEEP
AWAY WARNINGS IGNORED

Campers
In Robes at Stonehenge Festival.

Farmers
said - Keep away and so did the department of the environment, but , over
the weekend, thousands of young people ignored the warnings and transformed
a field alongside Stonehenge into a vast mediaeval style encampment.
They brought their goats and their dogs and even their own bakery - and with
many of the campers wearing long flowing robes, they could easily have been
the army of Henry V at Agincourt. Playing in turn on
the makeshift stage - built in line with the central arch of Stonehenge and
the heel stone - were 20 groups . They included members of the cult recording
band Hawkwind , Lightning Sphere, Jupiter's Child and Solar Ben , with Elizabeth
Taylor's son - Michael Wilding , on flute and saxophone . Local Bands Local bands also used the opportunity
to play to a vast audience of people from all over the country . Shining Hearts
, based in Salisbury , took along their own generator and gave an impromptu
concert just outside the stone circle.
But music was only secondary to some . As one Londoner put it, here was their
chance to practice their own lifestyle away form the prejudice of the cities.
He pointed out the workers co-operative bakery - where wholemeal bread was
being baked and the the tiny stalls selling teas, fruit and home made candles
- all at rock bottom prices.
Food supplies were being bought locally and a farmer in the area , for example
, agreed to supply daily churns of milk. Perhaps the biggest problem was sanitation
- although the toilets at the entrance to the monument were left unlocked
. Amesbury people had mixed feelings
about the festival which was declared illegal by the Department of the Environment
last week. But one middle aged man said " I only
came to laugh but now Im here I think its great ". And many
of the leaders in the town agreed that the festival had "not
been detrimental"
The manager of the coop-, Mr Ken Allen said "Theyve
got their rules and Ive got mine but weve had no ,problem with
shoplifting or anything" .
On the other hand ., the manager of one cafe said he was only serving his
"recognised customers "otherwise he
would have to take the salt , pepper and mustard from the tables. Wiltshire police kept a low profile
over the weekend - keeping mostly outside the festival site, which is owned
by the National Trust and controlled by the department . But they occasionally
went into the field to take messages to be tannoyed over the public address
system . And they even directed traffic through the wide open gate at the
entrance , past a departmental sign warning people of possible jail sentences
for remaining on the site illegally , for organising or taking part in unlawful
assembly , or for "erecting or raising apparatus
for sound transmission" . By yesterday ( Wednesday )
52 arrests had been made , mostly on drug charges. The arrests were mostly
outside the festival , but in the vicinity of Stonehenge. Sordidness. Chief Supt Frank Lockyer said "whilst
perhaps the numbers of arrests and crimes may be low considering the numbers
attending , the figures really reflect the amount of effort the police were
able to put into it, rather than the extent of the problem . One should not
ignore the fact that the festival is illegal , neither should one ignore the
sordidness of the circumstances on the site" .

Nudes drugs and theft at the rock festival.
Stonehenge's Midsummer solstice
ceremonies may be over for another year for the Druids , but for 2000 or so
hippies , the field around the ancient monument is still a site suitable for
them to pitch their tents , tepees and mobile homes and carry on with the
rock festival they started last weekend. Although there have been no incidents
on the site , the number of arrests for theft and drug offences , both on
and off the site, has steadily increased . Offences have ranged from a
streaker caught inside the monument site during a druids ceremony to theft
of food and equipment from other campers. Complaints were made to the police
on Tuesday after a number of hippies were seen bathing nude in the river Avon
at Amesbury. One American visitor - is Ann Thatcher , from Wisconsin - had
112 pounds worth of property taken from her tent , including her passport,
return air ticket and cash . Miss Thatcher had stopped at Stonehenge to see
the stones and camped at the site not realising that it was a hippie commune
.Store fire. On Tuesday a food store on
the site was destroyed by fire along with most of its contents. Fans put out
the blaze themselves. So far there have been close to 60 arrests for offences
of one sort or another and a handful of hippies have already appeared before
magistrates at Salisbury and been remanded . The number of fans built up
towards the end of last week and by the weekend close to 3000 were camped
on the site adjoining Stonehenge. Pop music blared out day and night , but
by Wednesday the numbers had dwindled to 1500 and fans were still leaving
the site in small groups or singly .

Cloudy
.

Despite
a large number of visitors from the festival being held in the next field
the annual druids ceremonies at Stonehenge at dawn on Monday proved the most
orderly and least attended for some years. Several hundred sightseers and
visitors to the ceremonies were joined by about only 1000 or so of the 3000
rock festival fans . Butt the Druids and their visitors were unlucky with
the weather and because of cloud did not see the sun rise over the heel stone
as is hoped on the Summer Solstice. Among the Druids was Coronation St star
Ken Barlow ( Bill Roach )who sounded the trumpet during the dawn ceremony
, which included some 60 white robed members of the order. The stone circle was heavily
barricaded with barbed wire fencing and illuminated . Police were out in strength
with dogs.
Visitors, including many from overseas who had come to visit Stonehenge, found
a bonus attraction in the festival and many paid a visit to the site to see
what was going on . Answering questions about the
likely cost falling on the county council of the festival ,the county council
chairman, Group Captain Andrew Wellman , said any cost would fall on the police
.
"The people there are breaking the law if they
trespass and the police will be expected to carry out their duty "he
said .